Turbine gas-engine.



PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908.

V. G. APPLE.

TURBINE GAS ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.9,19oa.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 892,206. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908. V. G. APPLE.

TURBINB GAS ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9. 1903. i

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Immun 110.892,206. PATENTED JUNE so, 1908. V. G. APPLE.

TURBINE GAS ENGINE.'

APPLIOATION FILED Nov. 9, 190s.

4 SHEETS-SHEET s.

No. 892,206. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908.

V. G. APPLE.

TURBINE GAS ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 9, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

speen-cation of Ltters Patent.

Patented June 30, 1908.

Application .mea Noventa s, 190s. sans No. 180,465.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, VINCENT G. APPLE, of

Dayton,in the county of'. Montgomery and.

State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Turbine Gas-Engines; an I hereby declare that the 1fellowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, 'reference being had to the accompanying drawings,which form part of this specification. p

My invention relatesto' improvements in turbine gas engines, wherein a rotatable imulse member or rotoris im elled by the ac- -ion u on its vanes or blades of the force exerte by the expansion of a suitable substance under the influence of heat generated .within the engine bycombustion ofga suitfable fuel.

One object of my invention is to provide means for roperly supplying the fuel and the expansi le substances to be employed in supplying power to the impulse member, arranged in a unitary casing with\"s`aid impulse member to be driven thereby.

A further object of my invention is to provide in a device of the character described, a

fuel com ressor of novel design.

A furt er object of my mvention is to provide advantageous means for controlling and timing the introduction of. fuel to the point of combustion and directing the application 'of the 'force enerated by, the expansion thereof upon t e im ulse member or rotor.

A further object o m invention -is to provide a machine of the c aracter described of improved economical and .eflfcient construction. f

',With aview to attaining these and furtherobjectshwhich will become-apparent to those skilled inthe art, my invention consists in the features of construction and arrangement ilo of parts hereinafter more'fully described and specified in the claims.

y Referring now tothe drawings, Figure 1 is a 'tudinal verticalsection, with some parts roken elevation, of-a as turbine constructed in accordance wit my invention. Fig. 2'is a vertical vcross section thereof on Vline-2--2 of Fig, 1. Fig., 3 is asimilar section on line 3 3 -of1Fi 1. Fig. 4 is a detail of the-valve detache ,with partsof the valve facebroken away. Fig'. 5 indicatesan extended fra ment of the isurfac'e of the air propeller," ustrating the arrangement of the 'vanes,'or1b1ades, thereof, and, Fig. 6 isa similar illustration ofthe blade arrangement the engine casing 18. The casing 18 is prefof the rotary impulse member, or rotor'. Fig. 7 is a fragment of the walveand the adjacent `casing, showing the valve partsin communivtheJ partition member ta en from the rear,

and, likewise taken from the rear.

Throughout the drawings like numerals of reference refer to like parts.

Referring now to the form of machine illusg. 12 is a detail-of the outlet valve,

trated in the Figs. 1to 6, 15 indicates a base,

of suitable construction, supporting two standards, 16 and 17 whereon are supported erably made in two parts, 19 and 20, as hereinillustrated, the part 19 constituting the l casing ofa compressor, and the art 20 constitutlng the casin of-what I wi call the imulse chamber. he portion 19 of the casing 1s preferabl open at lts front end, as at 21,

4and is of re atively-large diameter, its diameter, however, being reduced by one or more steps, as indicated at 22, so that the rear end of the compressor chamber is of less diameter than the inlet or forward end 21. The sides and rear end of the chamber21,are surrounded by a jacket of water contained in `the jacket-'chamber 23 formed in the casing19.

24-24'indicate ports made into the water 'acketed rear end'of the compression chamr casing, -such ports being referably four in number, equidlstant from t e axial center of the casing. y

A he impulse-chamber casing 20, is constructed to form a water-jacket chamber 25, entirelylsin'rounding the front end thereof, as indicated inthe drawings.

--26--26 indicate ports made through the front end wall of the casing, at the same distance from the axis as the 'ports 24 ofthe compressor casing, y'and ofl equal size there.

with, but offset'wlth relation to the ports 24 ofthe compressor-,s0 as toebe out of register. ftherewith.

4formed -inte ral with: the rear 4facefofthe frontwall o the casing 20, one of said nozmaximum velocity against the impulse member to secure the operation of the machine hereinafter described. A

28 indicates an exhaust opening formed at the rear end of the impulse chamber casing. Sufficient space is left between the front end of the impulse-chamber casing and the rear end ofthe compressor casing to admit a suitable rotary valve.

80 indicates a rotatable shaft extending axially through the engine casing, and mounted for rotation in suitable bearing brackets 31-31. The shaft 30 is preferably hollow, as indicated at l312, to form a waterchamber. Suitable water piping connections are provided to supply the various Watercoo ed members with a supply of water. ln the present illustration 33 indicates a water inlet pipe communicating with the compressor water jacket-chamber 23;

34 indicates a connection between said jacket 223 and the shaft chamber 32; 35 indicates a connection between said shaft chamber and the water jacket space 25 of the impulse chamber casing; and, 36 indicates the water outlet from said jacket space 15.

38 indicates a power transmittingr instrumentality mounted in the shaft 30 for rotation therewith.

Intermediate the compression and impulse chambers, l provide means for regulating, as

to the time and quantity, the passage of gaseous substances from the first named chamber to the other.

In the specific embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 7, 40 indicates a rotary valve mounted upon the shaft 30 for rotation therewith and arranged between the adjoining water-jacketed end walls of the air compressor and the im ulse chamber. The valve 40 is preferab y hollow throughout, as indicated at 41, and is provided with an aperture 42 arranged to register with similar aperture 43 in the hollow shaft 30.

44-44 indicate ports formed in the, valve 40 preferably equal in number to the ports 1n t 1e rear end wall of the compressor casing, and arranged to pass in register therewith during rotation, as indicated in Fig. 7. The ports 44 of the valve 40 also register with the ports 26 of the impulse chamber casing, but subsequently, as to the cycle or rotation of the valve, to the register ofits ports 44 with the Compressor ports 24. The valve 40 is preferably arranged out of frictional contact with the adjacent faces of the stationary casing members, to reduce the frictional heat and Wear, and the provision of a connection from the hollow parts of the valve to the watercontainirg hollow shaft 30, provides a means for dissipating such heat as might otherwise deleteriously affect the valve, and for causing the condensation of products of combustion lwithin the valve ports.

Y rotor, which comprises a cylinder or drum somewhat less in diameter than the interior diameter of the impulse chamber casing provided on its periphery with a suitable number of circumferentially arranged rows of vanes or blades, 46, of such configuration and arrangement that they cause the cylinder to rotate when under a pressure created by a substance moving rearwardly therepast.

47-47 indicate coacting blades or vanes arranged in rows inters aced with and extending down between t 1e rows of vanes 46 and carried by the casing.

The vanes of the impulse member may be of any suitable form or configuration, but I have illustrated in Fig. 6 the arrangement thereof which I consider the most advan\ tageous. By reference to said figure it will be noted that the movable vanes are somewhat dished, or curved, and are arranged in positions more oblique to a line parallel with the axis of rotation as they progressfrom the point of first application of the nnpelhng orce. The stationary blades, illustrated 1n dotted lines, are so arranged that they tend to direct the impelling substance against the blades of the impulse member at themost efficient angle.

The compressor member compr'ses a drum or cylinder 48 mounted for rotation on the shaft 30, and provided on its periphery with rows of blades 49 similar in construction to those of the power motor, or im ulse member, coacting with stationary bla es or vanes 50 upon the inner surface of the inner c asing. The relative arrangement of the stationary and movable blades or vanes 49 and 50, may best be seen from Fig. 5, wherein the direction of rotation of the cylinder and the direction of the air are indicated by arrows. The arrangement of the rows of movable vanes 1s such that their Obliquity to aline parallel with the axis of the cylinder increases from Y the point of entrance of the air toward the rear of the casing, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. 51 indicates a gas inlet' pipe, through which gas under any proper degree of compression may be forced.

Suitable ignition means are provided in conjunction with the impulse chamber orts. lIn the resent illustration 52-52 in icate spark p ugs mounted in the ports or nozzles of the impulse chamber and adapted to be connected with a suitable ignition system,

not shown in detail, in theusual manner as will be well understood.

The operation of rthe device herein described will be as follows; The initial rotation being imparted to the -shaft 30 in anysuitable manner, the blades 49' of the com` pressor member serve to propel air, or the gaseous fuel substance, inward from the open end of the casing toward the rear end thereof, the course of such air impelled by the vanes 49 being directed by the stationary vanes 50 ranged in the osition shown dotted lines, communicating upon the casing. The capacity of the vanes arranged at the least obliquity, atthe intake end o the air compressor, being greater than the capacity of the blades arranged at greater Obliquity, the air is compressed to some vdegree as 1t passes from row to row of the blades, such compression being furthered by the reduction, at one or more points, of the size of the casing, and correspondingly its capacity. The gas inlet`51 is preferab y arso that the gas is mixed wit the air while it is lassed throu h the compressor, and is itse submitte to the same degree of compression as the air introduced to support the combustion to follow. The gas may, however, be introduced into a stationary element of the valve mechanism, as by pipes 51, illustrated in with the artition ports 26. The rotation of the sha t carryin with it the valve 40 serves to intermittent y bring the valve orts 44, first into register with ports 24 in t e wall of the air compressor casing and then with the ports 26 of the impulse chamber. register with compressor ports 24 the com-y pressed air and gas are trapped. into the valve ports 44 and a quantity ofthe fuel mixed is any other suitable manner i c a 'l ,porI s 44-are conse uently fired, and by their consequently carried forward by each valve port in its rotation. After leaving the position of register with the ports 24, ythe valve orts 44 come into register with the fuel outet ports 26 of theimpulse chamber casing,

`and at such time, by suitable ignition mechanism, sparks are caused to be emitted from the ignltion. devices 52, or the charges are 'ges of fuel gas contained wit 'n the valve explosion or rapi combustion, occasion a Vhigh degree of expansion of the substances within the port, and force said substances through the nozzles 27, where their expansion is partly or wholly completed. The substances thus impelled are directed by the nozzles, while moving at high velocity, against the vanes 46 of the power rotor, to rotate the latter at a high rate of speed. The

arrangement of the blades on the power rotor being such that each successive row renders the lme of passage of the im elling substance more tortuous, tends to ut' ize to the fullest degree the dynamic effect of the lmotive substance, and secures a high eHiciency of the en e.

eferring now to Figs. 8 to 12, it Will be apparent that the general arrangement of the air compressor and the power rotor, as to their respective localities and the like, are the same as those described, and I will, therefore, describe only the points of differentiation of the two' devices, it bein understood that arts throughout the mac ine illustrated in igs 8 to 12 are identicalin corresponding y with those already described in connection ports being provided with i As the valve ports with Fi 1 to 7, andare indicatedb likepressor illustrated is a du licate of that illustrated in the preceding gures exce t as to the arrangement of the orts thereo In the modified embo iment of my invention, the air com ressor and impulse chamber are separat by a single partition 60, having formed therein ports, preferably four in number, as indicated at 61, each of said ition devices 62, adapted to beconnecte with suitable ignition circuits to cause its o eration for the purposes to be set forth. wo valves, 63 and 64 are em loyed, one of said valves 63 being mounte on the shaft within the air compression chamber and rovided with one or more ports 65, as bestl lllustrated in Fi 10. The coacting valve 64 is provided wit a similar port 66 and is mounted for rotation with the shaft 30 within the impulse chamber. The orts of valves 63 ,and 64 are so arranged tlliat they are out of'register, the port 65 preceding (in the direction of rotation) the port 66. c

In operation the ports 61 of the stationary artition will be successively opened to the mflow of the combustible fuel by the passage of the port 65 of the intake valve 63, and then closed b said valve upon the air compressor side. 'Ilrie partition orts 61 are then successively opened to the impulse chamber side as the ports66 of valves 64 come in register therewith. At the moment such registry of the ports of the artitionand of the outlet valve 64 occur, t e charge within the partition is red as by the sparking igniter 62, and the consequent' expansion acts u on the vanes`46 of the rotor 45 to impel t e same rotarily, as beforedescribed. As indicated in Fig. 8 the rotor may be shaped in the same mannery as the compressor, w1th diameter i11- creasing in one ory 'more steps intermediate its ends to accommodate the expansion of the heated rotor impelling substance.

While I have herem for urposes of full specific embodiment of my invention, I do not desire to be understood as limiting myself thereto in all details, as it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes might be made in the construction thereof without departing from the spirit and sco e of my invention.

avin described my invention, what I claim an desire to secure by Letters Patent, of the United States, is 1. In a gas turbine, a rotary compressor, a turbine comprising an impulse chamber wherein is mamtained a ressure higher than the compression produceii by the compressor, and aP rotor, and a rotary trapping valve between the turbine chamber and compressor,

Varranged to maintain the turbine and compressor constantly out of communication, in the other chamber, and a ported valve on and to trap 10W pressure mixture from the the sha-ft in the interspace between the sepacompressor into operative relation to the turrating walls. y

bine chamber to rotate the rotor when ex- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as 15 5 ploded. my own, I affix my signature in presence of 2. In a machine ofthe character described, two witnesses.

a unitary casing comprising two chambers separated by two walls spaced apart and rovided with non-registering apertures a s raft 10 extending through both chambers, a compressor rotor in one chamber, a turbine rotor VINCENT APPLE.

In presence of- L. M. ARNOLD, L. WELLS. 

